Moonlight Prince (Vampire Girl #4)(57)

I jump to the side.

To the blade.

A giant thing of pale blue steel, covered with intricate carvings of the Fae. I grab the handle with both hands. And for the Fae I failed when I summoned this creature, for the Fae I failed when I allowed slavery to continue, for my own people, I drive the blade deeper. I drive it into the creature's heart.

And I kill the Darkness.





PART VII


—Ace—


I find my father at the very top of the hill. One moment, he is smiling, overlooking the battlefield cloaked in shadow. And the next, he yells out in pain, falling to his knees. He clutches his heart. "Something, something is wrong," he whispers.

I do not know what happened. I don't care.

He deserves pain.

A gust of wind hits me, and I see the darkness is fading below. The shadow that had covered the smoke withdraws. And from the remnants, emerges Arianna.

She flies through the sky and lands before us.

For a moment, she glances my way, and an understanding passes between us. Then she turns to my father. Raising her blade. Lux, I believe she called it. Light.

When Arianna speaks, her voice is soft, and yet it echoes with a power unimaginable. "Once, you were king of these lands. You were tasked with protecting your people. You were tasked with bringing peace." She steps forward, any trace of fear gone from her face. All weakness and pain gone. "But you lost your way." She gestures to the battlefield below, to the mountains of corpses. "This is not why you were chosen. This is not your duty. You have failed yourself. You…"

Lucian stumbles back.

"Are…"

He looks to me, eyes pleading for help.

"Not…"

He reaches out to me.

"Worthy."

"Please…" whispers my father.

I do not help him. For Levi. For the Fae.

"This land," says Arianna. "This land belongs to no one." She slashes her sword through the air, and the blade known as Light cuts the vampire king's throat.

He collapses, his life bleeding out of him, his eyes losing focus. One final time, he raises his hand in the air, and he whispers. "I only wanted… I only wanted to see home again."

And the great king dies.

And the war ends.





PART VIII


—Asher—


The shadow retreats. The dust settles.

The explosion Levi caused tossed me far down the hill, into the shallow waters. There I lay, my limbs and chest full of pain. I lay until the fighting stopped. I lay until the sun came up. Then, with my remaining strength, I pushed myself to stand, to search for the thing one I hold dearest.

I find him in the sky, battling a prince in white.

Varis meets my gaze. His eyes are no longer glazed over. His eyes are his own. And in them, I see love.

Niam turns to face me, his white cloak drifting in the wind, his sword in hand. His shoulder is torn open. His leg is cut and nearly immobile. He can barely stand. "So what will it be brother? Vampire or Fae? Who do you side with?"

I find a spear on the ground and hold the weapon tight. Tears well in my eyes. "It was never about race, brother. Not for me. It was always about people. Just people. And what makes them who they are."

Then I charge forward. And ram the spear through my brother's heart.

We collapse together. Him bleeding, his eyes blank. Me clutching his lifeless body, weeping against his chest.

I do not know how long I hold him. My brother. My kin.

Someone touches my shoulder.

I turn and see him.

His face kind.

His voice soft.

Varis.

"It's alright," he says. "It's alright, my love." And then he takes me into his arms and holds me close.

I speak through sobs. "I failed you. I failed the Fae. I didn't bring peace. Only death. Only more death."

"No, Asher." He caresses my head gently. "You could never fail me. Whatever you do, whoever you become, you will always be my Karasi. The Spirit of my heart."





PART IX


—Kayla Windhelm—


When we arrive at the battlefield, the war is already over, but the work is not yet done. Tavian and I gather up the survivors and begin efforts to tend to the wounded. There are hundreds of them. Thousands.

We should have been here, I think. We should have stopped this.

But in the end, what would we have done? The battle is won. There were always going to be casualties.

But I can do better next time. Next time, I can prevent wars in the first place. I could be a leader. A Druid.

"You are good at this," says Tavian as we scour the battlefield for more injured. It wasn't long after Arianna left the Rift, and then Fen, that we realized we had to return as well.

"Good at what?" I ask, rolling over bodies, checking for life.

"At serving others."

I chuckle. "I thought you'd say leadership, or command."

He smiles. "I did. For isn't that what serving others is?" He winks at me, and we continue on.

"Will you leave again?" I ask. "To avoid politics?"

"No," he says, wrapping his arm around me. "Now that the Darkness is defeated, I feel the curse retreating. I feel my memories fade. I will remember my wife's face and the faces of my children, I think. Yes. I think I would like that. But the rest I will forget. And then I will finally have peace."